The concerns of the Voters of Withington

The concerns of the Voters of Withington...

according to my inbox:

I have just done a check on the number of emails I've received from voters in the constituency since campaigning started and its nearly 300 now. Thank you for keeping me busy!

I talked about the type of subject that was dominating the inbox earlier. The subjects have stayed pretty much the same - according to my rough categorisation I have received at least 20 emails on each of the following areas:
- Human Rights 33
- Climate Change 31
- International Justice (including Robin Hood Tax) 29
- Democratic Reform 27
- Trident and other defence issues 24
- Health 22
- Civil Liberties 20

Other environmental issues and concerns about other public services also featured strongly.

This is an admirable reflection of the concerns of the voters of this constituency.

Here are a couple of replies to a couple of the most frequently asked questions:

On concern about climate change:
I agree with you that climate change will be one of the most important issues for the incoming government. The Green Party has consistently led the way in stressing the need to tackle this massive threat. I also agree with you that the measures we need to take to address this problem will provide other rewards for our society in this election the Green Party is particularly promoting those benefits.

A key part our manifesto is a 'Green New Deal' (the name is taken from the USA 'New Deal' of the 1930s) to take over the management of money from the broken banking system and use it for a a massive programme of investment to create jobs in areas like insulation, public transport, social housing and renewable energy, thereby moving towards a sustainable zero-carbon economy.
It is essential that we focus on this investment, instead of the cuts threatened by other Parties.

I totally agree with the contraction and convergence principle, as does my Party, and I would very much back an international deal on this. It is the people in the developing world who are bearing the brunt of climate change.
Given the need to keep the rise in temperature to under 2 degrees and the need for us to cut more deeply than developing countries, we need tough targets. We would commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 10% per year, aiming for 65% reduction by 2020 and 90% by 2030. Tough targets indeed, but we believe they are achievable with political will.

Regarding renewable energy, the Green Party wants to see at least 20% of our energy being met by renewable resources by 2020. We believe this can be achieved via a range of technologies – wind, solar, wave, tidal, geothermal and hydro. This country is fortunate in its ability to access many of these sources of energy and it is a scandal that governments have failed to invest sufficiently in these sources up to now. We have long supported the use of feed-in tariffs to encourage domestic renewable energy use, and see this being used as well as larger schemes to meet our needs.

I would also like to state that I believe our top priority is to reduce the amount of energy we use in the first place. Amongst other measures, the Green Party would introduce free insulation for all homes which need it, delivering a triple benefit of tackling climate change, providing jobs, and reducing fuel poverty. We have already run a scheme along these lines in Kirklees, in Yorkshire, which was driven by Green councillors there.

On the Digital Economy Act rushed through Parliament just before the election:

Both I and my Party are opposed to the Digital Economy Act and are outraged at the way it was rushed though Parliament, against expert advice. It adds a further dimension to the increasingly authoritarian hold this Government seems to want to place on us.

The Act breaches fundamental principles of British justice in that it assumes guilt and punishes, then puts the onus on people to prove their innocence. It also punishes people for actions which may have been carried out by a relative.

Disconnection should not be used as a punishment for allegations of copyright infringements. I would oppose this and any similar powers of interference if elected. I would also oppose the introduction of new website blocking powers, and would be pleased to attend Eric Joyce's parliamnetary meeting should I become an MP.

A brief video of Green Party leader Caroline Lucas expressing he view on the Digital Economy Act an be seen here:
D E Bill Opposition

Why I won't be watching the TV Debate Tonight

Today's the day that all the media hype about the Party Leader debates comes to a head, as the first one is Televised tonight on ITV (from Manchester no less). Given the pre-publicity it may well attract a large number of viewers - I won't be one of them.
There are two reasons for this:

- one is that I will be at a meeting with fellow Greens promoting our own campaigners here in Manchester

- the other is that I do not consider this a fair and appropriate debate, and I do not want to encourage it.

The ideas comes from the USA (like so many things) and it may be more suitable for a presidential debate but we do not have a President. Our constitution for what its worth effectively gives us 650 mini-presidential elections, including one here in Withington constituency. To date there are 7 candidates declared for Withington, all of whom should have in theory an equal chance; these 'Leader debates' straight away discriminate against 4 of those candidates.

The debates will be tightly controlled - no less than 78 restrictions have been placed by the Three Main Party machines on what can and can't happen, and audience participation is being kept to a minimum. Three impeccably groomed white males behind their lecterns giving us a half-hearted political equivalent of X-Factor.
The focus will be on things like appearance, body language, and possible gaffes; it is part of the elevation of personality over policy, and I do not see it as the solution to re-engaging the public with politics.

There are in contrast some opportunities coming up for people in Manchester to engage live with their potential representatives:-

Hustings Events

Sat 17th April Central Hall Oldham St. 2 pm Stop tthe War + CND have organised hustings for candidates in Manchester to answer questions on Afghanistan, Trident, Gaza, Islamophobia and Civil Liberties - I will be representing the Green Party at this - see here for more information

Tues 20th April, Friends Meeting House, 7 pm The Council and Climate Change - what next? Hear what candidates for the local elections for Manchester City Council have to say about climate change and what is/should be done in Manchester. My fellow candidate Gayle O'Donovan will be speaking for the Green Party - more information here

Thurs 22nd April, Hough End Centre Mauldeth Road West, 7.30 pm Public Hustings featuring all the Withington constituency candidates, organised by Unlock Democracy and Power 2010 - more details to follow.